Wednesday, 2 December 2015

What got the Victorians so spooked?

Figure 1. Original London Ghost Walk:

Tour Leader, Richard Jones

From
the first gothic novel The Castle of
Otranto (1764) by Horace Walpole to the late nineteenth century ghost story
The Turn of the Screw (1898) by Henry
James, it’s clear that the Victorians were obsessed with supernatural stories.
Despite technological and scientific discoveries, the era saw an overwhelming surge
in curiosity towards ghosts and, inevitably, saw an increase in the gothic
literature produced. What raised these ghosts from their graves into the
literary canon of the nineteenth century? My blog shall delve into the
philosophical and psychological depths behind the golden age of ghost stories,
discussing why they were (and still are) so alluring and why they were embedded
in the foundations of the Victorian gothic texts. Ultimately aiming to answer
one question: what got the Victorians so
spooked? For the purposes of my blog, I attended the Original London Ghost
Walk, led by Richard Jones, to expand my knowledge on local ghosts and
supernatural traditions. Throughout my post, I have included thoughts and
images obtained from my trip.

During the Victorian era, phantoms
of young children were exceptionally common in the literary haunting
experience. For example, Catherine Linton’s ghost at the start of Emily
Bronte’s Wuthering Heights (1847):

[M]y fingers
closed on the fingers of a little, ice-cold hand! The intense horror of
nightmare came over me […] and a most melancholy voice sobbed, “Let me in – let
me in!” […] I discerned, obscurely, a child’s face looking through the window
(30).

Figure 2. “Wuthering Heights Illustrations”

by Fritz
Eichenberg

This
quotation reveals a connection between Lockwood and the young spectre; a hair-raising
physical intimacy as his fingers “closed on” those of Catherine’s. The term
“fingers” suggests an image of doubling, the window is a metaphorical barrier between
the living world of the narrator and the supernatural world of the apparition. In
addition, the phrase “little, ice-cold hand” provides a sensory representation
of the ghost and signifies death in the child – a lack of warmth and thus, a
lack of life. Furthermore, repetition of the phrase “let me in” is especially chilling,
making the phantom seem mysterious. Who is Catherine Linton, the “wicked little
soul” (32), and why does she want to be let into the bedroom? The ambiguity
surrounding the child is provoking and distresses Lockwood, who describes his “maddening
fear” (30) at the sight. Therefore, in this spooky scene, readers understand
the narrator’s fear of the young, eerie spectre – a characteristic theme in
Victorian gothic texts.

Apparitions
spooked many Victorians, including Elizabeth Gaskell, who once wrote to Eliza
Fox claiming “I SAW a ghost!” (qtd. in Laura Kranzler: xi). In Gaskell’s short
text ‘The Old Nurse’s Story’ (1952) we see apparitions clearly lingering in her writing
too. A young girl, Miss Rosalind, is lured outside by a spectral child who had
“taken her by the hand” (22) – reflecting the intimacy of hands used by Bronte.
Miss Rosalind explains: “I hear my little girl plaining and crying very sad –
oh, let her in, or she will die!” (29). Frequent punctuation here develops oppressive pauses,

Figure 3. Elizabeth
Gaskell ‘The Old Nurse’s

Story’ by M. Grant Kelleymeyer

elongating the pronunciation and enforcing an unnerving tone. Again
similar to Bronte’s novel, the ghostly child is requesting entry into the
house. Why were these images common in gothic literature? Such images inspire
thoughts of the Freudian uncanny. Children
usually have connotations of innocence and naivety, however the infant spectres
in these stories harbour information unknown to the reader, causing an unsettling
secret to haunt the reader. As Julian Wolfreys notes: “The act of haunting is
effective because it displaces us in those places where we feel most secure […]
haunting is nothing other than the destabilization of the domestic scene” (5). Due
to these literary child ghosts, we are forced to wonder why they spooked the
Victorians. Perhaps the young phantoms were popular due to the high child
mortality rates in the 1840s – around ten years before these ghost stories were
produced. As Saira Ahmad comments in her blog “So, you call this life?” poverty
and disease terrified the lower Victorian classes and inevitably caused many
people to die – especially young children. Therefore, perhaps young apparitions,
frequently appearing in gothic literature, were a consequence of the guilt felt
by Victorians. The ghost children are isolated outside of the home, pleading
for entry, as the dead Victorian children are outside of society and the boundaries
of life. This is echoed by Elton E. Smith and Robert Haas who claim that
“[ghosts] initial popularity could easily be attributed to the Victorian
obsession with darkness and evil, as well as to Victorian repression and guilt”
(vii). Consequently, we wonder whether the Victorians were spooked by the
reality of their society, epitomised by the young, ghastly apparitions.

Technological advances may have also
been guilty in spooking the Victorians and causing a rise in spectral
literature. Despite offering numerous possibilities, technology struck terror
in many people. For instance, Alexander Graham Bell’s invention of the
telephone in 1876. Telephones offered the uncanny experience of being able to
communicate with people without having them physically present.

Figure 4. Image of Alexander
Graham Bell talking into a

telephone at the Centennial Exhibition,
Pennsylvania, 1876

This
experience was thriving with superstition during the Victorian period, as
Nicola Bown et al. points out: “The mysterious powers of electricity […] made
the world seem as if it were full of invisible, occult forces” (1). The idea
of sound being detached from a physical body is echoed throughout gothic
literature. For example, in Gaskell’s ‘The Old Nurse’s Story’ the harrowing and
tormenting sounds of the piano being played: “my flesh began to creep […] the
old lord, if it was he, played away more, and more stormily and sadly on the
great organ” (18-19). Sibilance used here echoes the gloomy rhythm played on
the piano: “more stormily and sadly”. This haunting tune, combined with the anonymity
of the player, reveals the spookiness of noise in gothic literature. Therefore,
it is probable that advances in technology and soundscapes during the nineteenth
century created an uncanny fear and stressed the unnerving ghostly voice, thus,
spooking the Victorians.

Figure 5. Original
London Ghost Walk:

Gas lamp located by Guildhall Buildings, London

Gas
lamps may also claim involvement in the spooky ghost sighting experience and
the surge in spectral literature. During the Victorian era, many homes were fitted
with gas lamps as they provided stable, strong lighting. However, as Ruth Robins
and Richard Jones both explain, carbon monoxide was sometimes released from incorrectly
installed gas lamps. Carbon monoxide intoxicated the Victorians and caused numerous
hallucinations – perhaps including visions of ghosts (Leeds
Beckett University, YouTube). Consequently, gas lamps may indicate why there
were so many ghost novels emerging during the nineteenth century – and why
phantoms were spooking so many Victorians.

In addition, scientific research may she spooking of the contemporary people. The Victorian
era saw incredible scientific discoveries and was often known as the Age of
Reason. In 1859 Charles Darwin published his text The Origin of Species, in which he proposes the theory of natural
selection.

Figure 6. First Edition of The Origin of Species (1859) by
Charles Darwin

Natural
selection is the idea that human life occurred as a result of adaptation to
environments, rather than being given from an almighty God. So, the era
unavoidably saw people casting off religion to follow the evolutionary
teachings of Darwin. This detachment from religion caused confusion and fear for
many Victorians. Without God, there was no secure explanation for an afterlife
and, therefore, the human soul was seen as ambiguous. If the soul does not go
directly to heaven or hell, where does it go? Perhaps this is the reason for the
Victorian belief in ghosts; a soul trapped on earth, eternally haunting the
living. Some Victorians were even waiting for science to prove the existence of
the human spirit. As Bown et al. explains “[in the nineteenth century] the
spirit is viewed as an yet undiscovered material form, which awaits only new
scientific discoveries for its true nature to be revealed” (7). On the other
hand, ghost stories may have been used to reintroduce wonder into the
contemporary society. With religion being reduced as a result of scientific discoveries,
it is possible that the gothic novel was created to keep ideas of supernaturalism
and spiritualism alive. Consequently, despite the rationality of scientific
advances in the enlightened period, Victorian people became fearful regarding
the placement of their souls and this may have been what spooked them.

In
conclusion, the Victorians were obsessed with supernatural tales. Numerous
gothic stories produced in the nineteenth century are centred on images of
apparitions and uncanny hauntings. So, the question I posed was: what got the
Victorians so spooked? In my blog, I have delved into four main areas that may
have caused the public to be so frightened of phantoms: Child poverty among the
lower classes and the guilt experienced by the living, the introduction of
technology, including the telephone and its Freudian uncanny in regards to
disembodied voices, gas lamps and the hallucinatory carbon monoxide they
produced and finally, the Age of Reason and the enlightening scientific
discoveries that inspired a detachment from religion and, thus, an ambiguity of
the soul. To conclude, the Victorians were spooked by the world around them;
regretting the past, troubled with the present and dreading the advances of the
future.

Figure 7. Original London Ghost Walk: Photograph of London
alleyway,located near St. Paul’s Cathedral

Figure 8. Original London Ghost Walk: Photograph 2 of London alleyway, located near Bank station

9 comments:

Hi Phoebe,I really enjoyed your blog! It was really interesting to read. No wonder there were so many ghost stories going round, after all the new things the Victorians were experiencing, I think I'd be spooked too!(p.s.thanks for mentioning me) Saira :)

I definitely agree - the technological and scientific advances must have been terrifying for the Victorians. And thank you for letting me reference your post! It really showed me how difficult Victorian life must have been for all different kinds of people.

I enjoyed your blog. I'd love to join the original ghost tour after reading your post.Victorian people's thinking about the soul is interesting. Now I see why Victorian people were so spooked. By the way, I love your photo (figure 7). It's so spooky but also beautiful.

I'm really glad that you enjoyed my blog. Figure seven is my favourite too! The mood in the alleyway was so eerie and haunting - and the street lamps created a beautiful glow. I felt as though I had to capture it for my post! :)

Thank you for commenting on my post. The ghost walk was a great experience - I would definitely recommend it if you were interested. Richard Jones was an amazing guide, he was both knowledgeable and spooky, making the experience fascinating - and tickets were only £10 each!

Hi Phoebe, This is a great blog! I particularly liked your reference to child ghosts, there is something seriously spooky about child hauntings! I also really enjoyed your link between ghosts and electricity, this is not something I had previously thought about or linked, so it was great to be informed by your perspective. The Original London Ghost Tour looks great and I will be sure to attend it myself! thank you for a great read! :)